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Dec 16, 2007

Martine rated it:

Like many readers, I came to this book after seeing the excellent 2006 film based on it. Like many other readers, I ended up preferring the film to the book as the film is a lot more tightly woven and provides better motivations for the characters' actions.

The story, for those of you who don't know, centres on two Victorian magicians who strike up a feud and spend the next twenty years sabotaging each other's shows and trying to outperform each other, each coming up with a spectacula More...

2 comments like (12 people liked it)

Oct 26, 2011

Harold rated it:

Loved it. Certain subjects, in this case stage magic, hold a lot of appeal for me and a good book about those subjects is going to be well received by me. I loved the movie also, but this book is quite different in a lot of ways. It’s a great example of how a good screen writer can adopt and change the author’s ideas and emphasis and still come up with a good movie. BTW – I recall reading somewhere around the time that the movie came out that the term prestige , in the sense that it is used her More...

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Belinda rated it:

Really more of a 4.5, but the very, very end left me enough at a loss that I rounded down instead of up. This is one page-turner of a debut novel. I was reading it concurrently with Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and needless to say, this one went much more quickly.

The main thing I want to say about this novel is that, if you've seen the movie based on it, you do NOT know the story of this novel. I did enjoy the film, but it stands on its own apart from the book, in many mor More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 20, 2010

Mariel rated it:

I was reading (and very much absorbed in) Christopher Priest's The Prestige on a long-ass transatlantic flight in 2008. I was tired, though, and stuck the book in the flap on the back of the seat in front of me so I could take a short nap to rest my eyes. When I woke up, my book was gone. (They left the in-flight magazine.)

An open letter to the jerk who stole my book:

Book thief,

Why'd you do it, huh? Were you bored? Did you think it was funny to steal a book be More...

8 comments like (19 people liked it)

Aug 24, 2008

Ellen rated it:

It actually took me quite a long time to read this one, and while I largely enjoyed it, I can't help wondering some things. My suspicion is that I was sometimes uninspired to keep reading because the pacing was a bit slower than the movie. Connected to that, I kept wondering over and over again what it would have been like to read the book without knowing the big twist at the end. There were clues, certainly, and while it wasn't spelled out during Borden's portion of the narrative, I wondered wh More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Oct 31, 2007

Audra rated it:

A suspenseful and gripping story, Christopher Priest demonstrates his storytelling skill in this compelling tale of two turn-of-the-century competing British stage magicians and their feud that trickles down through their descendants. A present day young man unexepctedly finds out that he is a descendant of one of the magicians, and the reader follows his journey of reading their old diaries, learning of their lives, secrets, the feud, and how it so directly affects him (the present day young ma More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 21, 2008

Kate rated it:

I really liked the movie, and when I found out there was a book, I decided to read it. So far it's ok, but way different from the movie (which doesn't surprise me). I'll update later as I read it.

It's taken me a while to read it because I leave it at work and read it on my breaks. It has been really good so far, and the basic plot is similar to the movie. I'm only about half way through, but it's very good.

After finishing it, I've decided the movie is better. The boo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 22, 2011

Cathy rated it:

I was mesmerized by this story about the craft of magic and the art of stagecraft in Victorian England. A fantasical thriller and a story about magic, you have to be willing to suspend disbelief for it to work. It also works as a study of obssession, stagecraft, and of manner and morals in the Victorian era. Patience is required as the story is mostly revealed through diary entries. The last third of the book really picked up and I was transported. Groan. (Audible version, Simon Vance as n More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 13, 2007

Russ rated it:

You know the kind of book that starts out very wordy and slow, and then *boom* you get a scene that makes you want to read the rest of it right now, just to find out what happens? This is that kind of book.

The setting is in present day, with descendants of two famous magicians trying to figure out what happened to their great-grandfathers. They do this by reading the journals/books of their forefathers. What they find out will really amaze you.

This book will keep you g More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 26, 2007

Mary Catherine rated it:

This is the book that last year's movie of the same name (with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) was based on. It features two rival magicians who fight for supremacy and who try to come up with the ultimate illusion.

Having seen the movie before I read the book, I think the movie is better solely because magic is a visual medium and it loses some power when it's just being described on the page. There are some pretty major plot differences between the book and the movie and I like t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 16, 2011

Elliott rated it:

"A Tale of Two Christophers"

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, Christopher Priest wrote a book, Christopher Nolan directed a movie. Both were called "The Prestige," the latter being based on the former. Both were well received by critics and audiences alike. During the ensuing Revolution, prole Christopher Priest nobly sacrificed himself so that bourgeois Christopher Nolan could live happily ever after with his ain true love. Christoph More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 11, 2011

Klytia rated it:

E' raro che dopo avere visto un film vada a comprare e subito leggere il romanzo da cui è tratto: conosco già la storia, e mai come in questo caso, il finale!
Ma tanto mi è piaciuto The Prestige di Christopher Nolan che mi sono immediatamente immersa nella lettura del romanzo del suo omonimo Christopher Priest.</p>

Se le alte aspettative che avevo per il film, sarei andata a vederlo anche a scatola chiusa per via del regista e del cast, sono state confermate e superate; la stessa cosa è acca

More...

0 comments like

Apr 28, 2009

Immen added it

My view of this book is deeply colored by the movie, which I watched two or three times and greatly enjoyed. The book has a different emphasis; there's this frame story which sets up, right from the start, a primary theme of twins and doppelgangers, which changes the game very much. (The movie, in my view, was more about the batshit things that driven people are driven to do, with homg twin shenanigans as a secondary theme.)

The frame story asks a question, which clearly isn't going t More...

0 comments like

Oct 08, 2011

Yoav rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Aug 23, 2011

Matthew rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. For about 3/4 of it, I was sure I was going to give it five stars. There is a lot going on and a lot to love. It would be easy to fall back on my normal complaint that the ending didn't work for me, but in this case, the problem is a little more complex.

The book tells the story of two magicians who are rivals and whose lives are intertwined in some fascinating ways. The first half tells the story from the first magician's perspective. This was my favorite pa More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 15, 2011

Craig rated it:

I freely admit that I read this book because I was so blown away by the movie. That said - and this is one of the very few times in my life I will say this - I actually think the movie was much better than the book.

Now, don't get me wrong - it was definitely an interesting book. I definitely liked the idea of the majority of the book being the personal journals of two competing magicians with their very different lives, not to mention different takes on mutually-shared events. Borde More...

0 comments like

Jul 13, 2011

Mike rated it:

SPOILERS.

I tried to not let my feelings about the movie interfere with reading the book it was based on. In most cases, it's academic since I like the book more anyway, but in this case I didn't care for it.

The book is told by way of reading people's diaries, but where it might be interesting to get snippets here and there, the entirety of each is presented in order, and most of the information given feels either like fluff, or something we've heard before. At times the quest More...

0 comments like

Apr 28, 2011

Heather rated it:

My husband, Mike, has been recommending I read this book for years, but he likes historical nonfiction, generally, so he clearly can't be trusted in such matters. I am, however, an enormous fan of magicians, so it was only a matter of time. I'm so glad I finally read this thing, and I've told him about a hundred times. As I tweeted the other day: An epistolary novel about rival turn-of-the-century magicians = Heather bait.

If you've seen the movie (which I have, and I love it), the fi More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 19, 2011

Daniel rated it:

This is Christopher Priest's 1995 novel about Rupert Angier and Alfred Borden, two rival magicians at the turn of the 20th century. Each with their own specific philosophy about magic and the performance of stage illusions, they clash during a seance and ignite a feud that defines their careers and aspirations. In the midst of this rivalry, Angier witnesses an inexplicable illusion at one of Borden's shows, where he somehow transports himself in the blink of an eye between two cabinets. Hungr More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Apr 19, 2011

Shayna rated it:

Let me first say that I saw this film several years ago, soon after it came out on dvd. I'm not entirely sure whether knowing the big twists was good or not, but it certainly didn't make the book tedious. I think it might be less confusing to see the movie first, but less exciting to know all the secrets already. If anyone read it first, then maybe you can tell me if it was confusing or not.
Ok, so the story begins with a man who is thought to be a descendant of one of two magicians who More...

0 comments like

Oct 20, 2010

Paul rated it:

I'm giving The Prestige 2 stars because, when you hold your cursor over that option, it says "it was ok." And if I'm being honest, that's exactly how I felt about it, even though my initial reaction was to give it three stars. If someone asked me how I liked it I'd probably say "eh, it was ok." I think my original reason for reading this book was to look at the source material that the brothers Nolan adapted for their outstanding film, and I would primarily recommend it to pe More...

0 comments like

Jun 12, 2010

Mike rated it:

It doesn't usually bother me to read a book after I've watched the movie. I'm not in it to find out what happens. I'm in it to enjoy the ride. Plus, I generally forget half of the details anyway.

In this particular case, I have to say that it bothered me. Let me first say that I loved the movie. I guess it isn't fair to judge a book based on the movie that was subsequently made from it. But having seen the movie, what else can I do? I liked the movie better.

The bo More...

0 comments like

Dec 23, 2011

melydia rated it:

I’ve wanted to read this ever since seeing the movie in the theaters. It is the strange tale of two rival magicians at the turn of the 20th century as they each attempt to uncover the other’s secrets so they can better them. It is told more or less as a collection of diary entries by the two men, with some extra bits around the edges about a couple of their descendants in modern times. I enjoyed the mystery of the magician’s life and indeed was tempted to start over from the beginning when ce More...

0 comments like

Mar 18, 2010

Lyddie rated it:

I just finished this book, literally, two minutes ago. Although the novel was very well written, and superbly creepy, I felt the ending crumble in my fingers as I read the very last page. I now understand why the writers of the motion picture re-worked the story so drastically. Characters and entire plot lines were omitted. I don't think it would have been as successful, though, had the film remained too close to the novel. However, I was enthralled by the pace of the story. The slow peeling bac More...

0 comments like

May 02, 2009

Chad rated it:

I began reading "The Prestige" not having seen the film version, but I had heard whisperings about the secret twist ending that apparently went over well with movie-going audiences. I didn't know the specifics really, just enough to start formulating a hypothesis to the story's mystery after the first few dozen (or so) pages. As the narration of the novel's first two narrators began to gel somewhat with my theory, I immediatley began to worry that in hearing what I'd heard, the book w More...

0 comments like

Dec 05, 2011

Eh?Eh! rated it:

I prefer the movie, but I'm not sure if that's because I saw it first or because it condensed the confusion down to a lean story of obsession and one-upmanship. My reading was heavily influenced by knowing the major spoilers. Should've read the book first.

Dammit, what is with the Monday morning over-the-shoulder snoopers? Gotta make this fast. Unreliable narrators, stupid feuds with real consequences that made them impossible to let go, destroying your own life through choices. More...

17 comments like (17 people liked it)

Feb 12, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Cheap cheap cheap. I think I hate suspense novels. Their whole premise is like a creepy man promising one more and one more piece of candy if you just walk one more and one more block down the road with him. And never you mind that unmarked delivery van at the end of the street.

The book starts well, as a regular old first person narrative. But then the novels switches over to diaries. The second of which goes on to include all the boring little bits of daily life that, by that time in More...

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Nov 12, 2010

Arun rated it:

Why are people fascinated by Magic ? Why is there a wish in the minds of humans to do the logically impossible ? The answers are startlingly obvious for the extent of needs we have is limitless. When we see a human being on stage in the limelight doing something we wish we could, the applause is immense. The bedrock of this tale is magic in an era when it was developing and of two feuding magicians whose rivalry continues beyond the grave.

The plot moves through multiple narratives an More...

11 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 07, 2010

Rob rated it:

Secrets fuel this book: the lengths to which people go to protect them, how the effects ripple from generation to generation and - most importantly - the shocking nature of the secrets themselves. Given that the plot hinges on certain revelations, it would be unfair to go into too much detail. Suffice to say that this is, ostensibly at least, a Victorian-set melodrama concerning the feud between two magicians and the different ways in which they both achieve the same illusion (disappearing an More...

0 comments like

Mar 05, 2011

Mark rated it:

First published in 1995, Priest’s novel is a masterclass in deception.

In the new Introduction to this edition, reviewer Graham Sleight makes the point that we readers will probably have picked up this book not because of the book’s reputation but because of the Christopher Nolan-directed film (2006).

I suspect so too. Certainly it was for me. However, as clever, ingenious and skilful the film is, I’m pleased to find that for me the book is better.

On the surface, thi More...

3 comments like

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